A Rising Role for Decentralized Solar Minigrids in Integrated Rural Electrification Planning? Large-Scale, Least-Cost, and Customer-Wise Design of Grid and Off-Grid Supply Systems in Uganda
Summary. Uganda faces severe electrification challenges, especially in rural areas. This paper develops an integrated planning model that combines grid extension, solar minigrids, and standalone systems to find the lowest-cost electrification strategy. Applied to southern Uganda, the model shows that minigrids can deliver reliable electricity at significantly lower cost than grid extension in many locations, suggesting they should become central to national electrification planning rather than temporary solutions.
Cite this article
González-García, A., Ciller, P., Lee, S., Palacios, R., Cuadra, F. D., & Arriaga, J. I. P.. (2022). A Rising Role for Decentralized Solar Minigrids in Integrated Rural Electrification Planning? Large-Scale, Least-Cost, and Customer-Wise Design of Grid and Off-Grid Supply Systems in Uganda. Energies. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134517
González-García, Andrés, et al. “A Rising Role for Decentralized Solar Minigrids in Integrated Rural Electrification Planning? Large-Scale, Least-Cost, and Customer-Wise Design of Grid and Off-Grid Supply Systems in Uganda.” Energies, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134517.
González-García, Andrés, Pedro Ciller, Stephen Lee, Rafael Palacios, Fernando de Cuadra, and José Ignacio Pérez Arriaga. 2022. “A Rising Role for Decentralized Solar Minigrids in Integrated Rural Electrification Planning? Large-Scale, Least-Cost, and Customer-Wise Design of Grid and Off-Grid Supply Systems in Uganda.” Energies. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134517.
@article{gonz-lez-garc-a-2022-rising-role-decentralized-solar-minigrids,
title = {A Rising Role for Decentralized Solar Minigrids in Integrated Rural Electrification Planning? Large-Scale, Least-Cost, and Customer-Wise Design of Grid and Off-Grid Supply Systems in Uganda},
author = {Andrés González-García and Pedro Ciller and Stephen Lee and Rafael Palacios and Fernando de Cuadra and José Ignacio Pérez Arriaga},
journal = {Energies},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.3390/en15134517},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134517}
}
TY - JOUR TI - A Rising Role for Decentralized Solar Minigrids in Integrated Rural Electrification Planning? Large-Scale, Least-Cost, and Customer-Wise Design of Grid and Off-Grid Supply Systems in Uganda AU - Andrés González-García AU - Pedro Ciller AU - Stephen Lee AU - Rafael Palacios AU - Fernando de Cuadra AU - José Ignacio Pérez Arriaga JO - Energies PY - 2022 DO - 10.3390/en15134517 UR - https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134517 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.3390/en15134517
- Countries
- Uganda
- Regions
- Africa
- Categories
- energy, regional-innovation-systems
- Added
- 2026-04-28